The Saviour of the Silence
by chasingafterstarlight
Summary: "It wasn't supposed to turn out this way." "I know, believe me, I know."/ The way the Deathly Hallows should have gone. HHr, slight RHr and HarryGinny.


**The Savio****ur of the Silence**

"_It wasn't supposed to turn out this way." "I know, believe me, I know._"

**HHr**

.

The chair in which the emerald-eyed boy is sitting is very comfortable. Sighing in content, he leans back farther, sinking into the cushions that enclose him and thinking happy thoughts for the first time in a while. Suddenly, he is interrupted.

"Harry! What are you doing? You're supposed to be-" His best girl friend, Hermione, begins.

"Looking up information about Horcruxes, I know, Hermione, I know," Harry groans. Slowly, he picks his book up and places it back in his lap. Absentmindedly, he begins to thumb through it. "I haven't found anything. Apparently most normal people don't write about Horcruxes in their spare time."

"It is a very touchy subject," Hermione agrees. Defeated, she sits down next to him, her arm brushing his. "Harry, I don't want this war to last forever. I want to move on with life, start a family…"

"As do I," Harry tells her. "You don't know how much I wish that it wasn't me who Vol- excuse me, _You-Know-Who_- chose that fateful day. You don't know how much I wish that I had no part in this war, how much I wish that people weren't- and still _are_- depending on me to defeat You-Know-Who."

"But I can guess," Hermione whispers, her fingers trailing up his arm. "You also wish that your parents weren't the ones killed in the war."

He nods. "Yes, I do. And it's not any better for you…"

"My parents don't even know my name," Hermione whispers, letting her fingers fall to the soft fabric of the chair. She blinks back the tears that are threatening to pour down her face. "They don't even know that they _have _a daughter."

Not knowing what else to do, Harry extends his arm and wraps his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. in her ear, he tells her, "They love you."

"They did," She contradicts. "They don't anymore."

..

He hears her crying in her sleep one night after Ron leaves. Silently, he leaves his bed and walks over to hers, placing a hand on her back. "Hermione? What's wrong?"

"I've been keeping you awake, haven't I?" Hermione sniffles. "I'm sorry, Harry, it's just…"

"Ron?" He feels a wave of emotion rush over him, though he can't identify it. "You're in love with him."

"I am not," Hermione contradicts. Slowly, she sits up, wiping still-falling tears from her cheeks. "That's the problem." A confused expression works its way onto Harry's face, so she elaborates. "I'm supposed to be in love with him, aren't I? We're _supposed _to grow up and get married and have hundreds of little redheaded Weasley kids. But that's not what I want. I don't want _him_. I'm not in love with him."

Harry stays silent. His eyes trace her face for any sign that she's lying. "But…you were jealous… when he went out with Lavender Brown, remember?"

"I wasn't jealous of her," Hermione sighs. "I never was. I was jealous of the fact that _he_, the git, could get a boyfriend while I couldn't. It was a bit damaging to my self-esteem."

"You had Krum," Harry protests.

"_Had, _Harry. I _had_ him. But then he went back to his country. And I didn't really like him, he was sort of annoying," Hermione explains, hanging her head. "Truth is… I think I may be in love with someone else."

To prevent an audible gasp, Harry bites down on his lip rather hard. "Who?"

"_That _is confidential, Harry," Hermione giggles. "And don't you dare go looking for my diary. I've been practising my hexes."

"How will you tell him, then?" Harry inquires. "Will you just keep it a secret forever?"

Shaking her head, Hermione sighs. "I haven't got a clue."

…

"Ron's back," Harry states plainly. "He's eager to see you."

Hermione rolls her eyes. "I know. I saw him."

"What are you going to do?" Harry asks her, eyes wide in sympathy. "He's still…_under the impression _that you're in love with him."

"Well, tell him to stop being _under the impression!_" shrieks Hermione. Seeing the expression on Harry's face, she shakes her head. "I know. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Why don't you just go talk with him?" Harry suggests. Her eyebrows rose in question. Quickly, Harry refuted his statement. "Okay, bad idea."

"No, no, it's a good idea," Hermione assures him. "But it will be so hard. He'll give me that accusing glare, I just know it. I've been expected to fall in love with him since the beginning, and the fact that I'm not will just be a disaster. Oh, I'm rambling...sorry, Harry!"

"I don't mind," Harry reassures her. "I know how you feel."

"You..._what?_" Hermione peers curiously at him. "You know how _I _feel? How can you?"

"I've been expected to fall in love with Ginny since the beginning," Harry explains. "And for a spell, I thought I was. Turns out it was just a...love potion. _It was a love potion, Hermione!_ They tried to force me into love."

"Don't be silly, Harry," Hermione laughs. "How could Ginny Weasley have come across a love potion?"

Harry snorts. "Think about it. Her older brothers whom she loves, Fred and George Weasley, run a joke shop. In said joke shop, they sell..."

"Love potions!" Hermione realizes. "Oh...so you think that Ginny...?"

"I'm not sure," Harry tells her quickly, "so I'm not about to accuse her of anything just yet. But I do have my suspicions."

Nodding, Hermione tries to smile. "Well, we both have confusing love lives then."

"Yeah," Harry smiles back weakly. "Yeah, we do. I'm going to speak with Ron, try to talk some sense into him. Stay here."

"You're not the boss of me, Potter," Hermione protests, but she grins. "All right. But tell me if you finally do manage to talk sense into him, you'll be the first."

"True," Harry confirms. Grinning from ear to ear, he bends down and kisses her cheek quickly. Red quickly spreads from the spot where his lips were to the rest of her face, which just makes him smirk smugly. "I'll see you soon, Lady Hermione."

"See you," whispers a barely audible Hermione.

...

"Ron," Harry is just outside of the tent, speaking to the youngest Weasley boy. Nervously, he shifts his weight from foot to foot. "I need to talk with you."

"Obviously, or you wouldn't be here," Ron snorts, not getting the seriousness of Harry's words. "What is it now? Wrackspurt got your tongue?"

Rolling his eyes, Harry shakes his head. "It's about Hermione."

"Oh." Ron's eyes widen. "_Oh. _You've fallen in love with her too, haven't you? I knew you couldn't resist."

Harry feels as though his eyes are going to fall out of their sockets. Quickly, he shakes his head, unable to form words. Finally, once he is able, he blurts, "_What?_ No! I couldn't resist? No, no, no."

Ron blushes. "Never mind then. What was it you were going to tell me?"

Seeing the innocent grin on his cherubic face, Harry finds it hard to form the words that he's so dedicated to telling his best friend. Finally, he gets out, "Hermione... isn't...in love...with _you_."

"What?" Ron kicks a rock angrily. "_What? _What do you mean she's not in love with me?"

"She doesn't love you like that," Harry sighs. He places a hand on his friend's shoulder, but Ron slaps it off.

"She's gone and fallen in love with you, hasn't she?" Ron roars.

Harry shakes his head again. "I _told _you, I am not in love with Hermione, and she is not in love with me."

"Funny way of showing it, then," Ron spits out venomously. "You've always been her favourite boy, I can tell. I was always in the way."

Kicking another rock, Ron stalks off in the opposite direction of the tent.

...

Once again, when Harry walks into the room, Hermione is crying, though she's trying to disguise it. He walks over to her and pulls her into his side, no words exchanged.

"How did it go?" She chokes out.

"About as well as I'd expected," Harry replies. "But forget that, Hermione- what's wrong with you?"

"I've just found out that the person I fancy doesn't feel the same toward me," Hermione sobs.

Harry stares at her incredulously. "How do you know?"

"I've heard him telling one of his friends," Hermione tells him, tears still sliding down her face. "_Over_heard, I suppose you would say. Anyway, he doesn't care for me in that way; he doesn't fancy me at all."

Being the thick boy he is, Harry doesn't quite understand what she is getting at. His rage toward the unnamed lad rises. "Who is he? I'd fancy a _meeting _with this child! Who does he think he is, hurting my... my best friend this way?"

Hermione just rolls her eyes. "Don't be thick, Harry. Think it over. Then come and talk to me."

Sinking back onto a spare pillow, Harry thinks. Wait, he'd just been outside, within easy hearing distance of Hermione. And he had informed Ron that he didn't fancy Hermione...could she? Could Hermione Granger possibly be in love with him?

_I must be going mad_, thought Harry. _But I still have to talk with her._

...

"Hermione," Harry states his presence.

"Harry," She looks up at him.

Sighing, he decides it is best not to try to cover up what he is actually there for. "Are you in love with me?"

"I..." She trails off. With tearstained cheeks, she just looks into his emerald eyes and nods once.

Startled, he almost falls off the rock that he is sitting on. "What? How...what...why?"

"It just happened," Hermione sobs. "It wasn't a conscious decision. One day I woke up, saw you, and then I realized that I fancy you."

"Hermione," Harry shakes his head. "Hermione, I can't do this. Not now... I just broke things off with Ginny, what would she think? We're about to go face Voldemort, he will kill you just for associating with me. Think of what he would do if he knew that you and I..."

She lifts her sad face to meet hers. "I expected as much. Always the tragic hero, aren't you, Harry? Not that you would know what that means. You will never take what you want for fear of them getting hurt. You're so selfless, Harry... but sometimes too selfless."

Kissing his cheek brusquely like he had done before, she stands up and walks off, leaving him to consider her words.

...

_The war is over_, Harry chants like a mantra in his head. _The war is over._

Marching out of the place where he had faced Lord Voldemort, many people rush at him. First there is a blur of red and pale white and chocolate brown whom he recognizes to be Ginny Weasley. She envelopes him in a huge, tight hug. Awkwardly, he pulls away after a few seconds. Ginny looks confused and hurt, but he doesn't stop to think on it.

Ron approaches him apprehensively. "Hello, Harry."

"Hi, Ron," Harry replies stiffly.

"You know," Ron scuffs his foot on the ground, not bothering to meet Harry's eyes. "I always knew that you would be able to defeat Voldemort. I was always there, supporting you, even when I wasn't _actually _there."

"What are you trying to say?" Harry demands, but without anger in his voice.

"I'm sorry," Ron apologizes. "I was a prat, foolish to think that you had something going on with Hermione. I know that you're not like that."

"Sure," Harry feels a rush of guilt fall over him. He doesn't show it. If Ron knew, he would murder him, and Harry doesn't fancy getting killed so he just smiles widely.

"Brothers?" Ron asks, extending his arms in hope of a hug.

Harry nods stiffly, and hugs him. "Sure, why not?" He hopes this will help with what he is about to do.

Ron grins. "Good to have you back, Harry."

Hermione approaches from behind. Her smile is almost hidden by her bushy curls. Harry smiles, thinking she's never looked more beautiful, even with her hair messed up and clothes covered in dirt. From behind Ron, she ran to Harry, tackling him in a hug.

On a split second decision that reminds him of the one he made after the Quidditch finals, he brings his lips to hers. Though it's just a quick peck on the lips, when they pull apart breathlessly, neither Ginny nor Ron looks pleased.

"HARRY!" Ron roars. "What in the name of Merlin was that?"

Harry exchanges a glance with Hermione that tells her 'save me'. "I kissed Hermione?"

"This is not the time to be cheeky," Ron reprimands, sounding an awful lot like a teacher. "I just apologize for assuming that you have feelings for Hermione here, and then you go and kiss her?"

"I _thought _after the war we would be together!" Ginny backs him up. "Or have you conveniently forgotten what you told me that day? We weren't actually broken up, you had no right to go date other girls, you foul git!"

"I can't believe you!" Both Ginny and Ron chorus in unison.

Harry sighs. "I wasn't planning on telling you this way..."

"...But it seemed like the easiest way," Hermione finishes. She takes Harry's hand in her own and squeezes it. "I'm so sorry, Ron, Ginny. I hope we can still be friends..."

Ginny, who looks as if she had been set on fire, lets out a long breath. "Look, this isn't important right now. I just found out something really...horrible."

"What is it?" Harry squeaks out, terrified.

"Fred...well, he didn't make it," Ginny gets out before dissolving into tears. Shooting Hermione an apologetic look, Harry walks over and pulls his ex-girlfriend into a hug. Reluctantly, Ron joins them, and Hermione, who had begun to cry moments before, finishes off the hug.

From behind, Luna Lovegood approaches them. "Hello, I just heard the news, and I must say, I'm so sorry, Ron and Ginny. I feel horrible for your family. What a loss." Tears start to fall down her face too. Surprisingly, the one to go pull the eccentric blonde into a hug is Ron.

"Ron and Luna?" Hermione whispers.

Harry shrugs. "I can see it."

"They're... cute," Ginny seconds.

...

Fred's funeral was the hardest event since Dumbledore's funeral.

Harry stands beside Hermione, his arm wrapped around her. Ginny stands on his other side with George, whom she was trying to keep from dissolving into tears constantly. Ron is on the other side of Hermione, one arm around Luna, who is dressed in what is probably her most normal outfit.

George is the one to stand up and say a few words. Grimacing, he glances down at his twin's dead body and begins.

"Hi, as you all know, I'm George Weasley. Until last week, I was a twin. But now my twin sits before you, clothed in cloth and placed in a coffin."

"Fred Weasley, my twin, was the funniest lad anyone ever knew. He was constantly coming up with new ideas and new jokes to entertain me. But not only that, he was brave and he definitely deserved his place in the Gryffindor house. He always wanted to know the 'current state of affairs' in the ongoing battle against Voldemort," some people winced, "and he wasn't afraid of anything that Voldemort could send his way. He fought the battle last week with bravery and grace that even some of the greatest wizards lack. I was proud to call him my brother. I still am."

"Though Fred is gone, he still lives on in our hearts, as corny as that sounds. I was privileged to be so close to him during the time that he was here..." George began to break down into sobs. Hastily, Ginny hops up to the stage, takes his arm and begins to lead him down. Before he went, George finishes, "Thank you. Always remember Fred Weasley!"

All of the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Lee Jordan and many others are in tears at this point.

"Well, this is depressing," Hermione's voice shakes. "I miss Fred already."

"So do I," Harry whispers.

...

Time went on, even after the battle. One day, Ginny pulls Harry aside.

"You know," Ginny tells him, "I always thought that you would fall in love with me."

"So did I," Harry sighs.

Ginny stares into his eyes. "I never gave up hope."

"You never gave me a love potion, did you?" Harry questions, smiling slightly.

"No, Harry," Ginny smiles slightly. "It wasn't supposed to turn out this way."

"I know, believe me, I know," Harry grins back. "I've got to go, Hermione's expecting me."

Ginny's face falls. "Of course she is."

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I'm truly sorry," Harry apologizes. He kisses her cheek quickly. "Believe me, one day, you'll find that perfect boy for you. And I'll be at your wedding, in the front row, supporting you all the way. You're basically... my little sister."

Lifting her face up to meet his, she smiles again. "All right. And I'll be at your wedding to Hermione, I promise."

"Is that an Unbreakable Vow?" Harry teases.

"It might as well be," Ginny replies seriously.

"Good," Harry nods, grinning. "Goodbye, Ginny."

...

Ron pulls Hermione aside. "Can I talk to you?"

"Yeah," Hermione looks at him, trying to decide his motives.

"You know, Hermione, I always thought we would fall in love," Ron looks down and blushes. "Guess I was wrong, wasn't I?"

"Yes, you were," Hermione states matter-of-factly. "You were. But now...I think things are finally the way they are supposed to be."

"Me too," Ron agrees. "I think I'm in love with Luna."

Hermione shoves his arm. "Well, go to her! I'm sure she feels the same way."

"But first, I'd like your blessing," Ron grins. "I want to go about this the right way."

"Fine." Hermione sniggers, amused. "Ronald Weasley, you have my blessing to go out with Luna Lovegood. Happy now?"

"Ecstatic," Ron replies. "So, we're friends then?"

Hermione beams. "We always were."

...

"I talked to Ginny," Harry tells Hermione as they swing on the swings at the Muggle park.

"I talked to Ron," Hermione responds. "And you worked things out, I would suppose?"

"We did," Harry grins. "Everything is so..."

"Perfect," Hermione finishes. "Finally, we get our happily-ever-after."

He grins at this statement. "Yes, we do." And he leans over to kiss her.

_**Finish.**_

**A/N: ****Well, there you go. My first HP oneshot. Sorry for any American English, I tried my best to change it. I would appreciate reviews, please, this took a while! AND MERRY CHRISTMAS! How about some reviews as a Christmas gift? Also, I'm going to write a oneshot for each of these pairings before the holiday is over:**

**Ron/Hermione (tonight), Draco/Ginny, Ron/Luna, possibly James/Lily**

**Any other requests? Leave a review! I don't write slash, though.**


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